[Pictures showing loopers and soybean leaves in a net and other various looper pictures.]
I’m Scott Akin, extension entomologist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative
Extension Service and today I am going to talk to about the “looper complex.”

[Dr. Scott Akin, U of A Div. of Agri, Extension Entomologist standing in a soybean
field.] The looper complex, like other insects in soybeans, tend to feed primarily
on the leaves. Which of course, the term we call that is just “defoliation.”

[Slide – Pictures of loopers in a net. The action threshold for treatment is 25% in
soybeans.] One important thing to keep in mind about loopers and this is typically
the time of year that loopers will start to come into play is that the smaller the
insect, the smaller the larva, the less feeding that it does per unit of time relative
to a larger caterpillar. [Close-up picture of a looper on a leaf.] Bottom line, is
if you come up on a population in the field of small caterpillars and there is not
much defoliation in the field, I want to caution you to NOT come back a week later
and then check to see what the field looks like because the rate of feeding increases
over time as the insect or the larva grows larger.

[Picture of a looper on a leaf with holes.] As far as insecticides for treatment of
soybean loopers, I urge you to stay away from pyrethroids by themselves. The lambda-cy’s,
the Brigades®, any of the other bifenthrin products, those are very risky and will
often flare soybean loopers. [Slide – Top recommended products for soybean loopers
– 4-6 ounces Intrepid®, 2 ounces Belt®, 6-8 ounces Steward®] The product of choice
for soybean loopers, if you are getting close to that 25 percent threshold during
reproductive stages, 4 to 6 ounces of Intrepid®, 2 ounces of Belt® or 6 to 8 ounces
of Steward®. Those are really the three top choice products that we recommend for
soybean loopers.

[Narrator] Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast is a production of the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture, and was funded impart by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.
For more information on soybean farming in Arkansas contact your local county extension
office.

[Title slide – Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast. Video shows various pictures of soybean
fields with specialists or agents in fields. U of A Division of Agriculture Research
and Extension University of Arkansas System, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. For
more information on soybean farming in Arkansas contact your county extension office
or go to www.uaex.edu. Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast.]